Approach- Will Claye is a trained elite athlete who breaks down the triple jump into his optimal techniques to assist future athletes in their training. In a description of his approach, Claye states that it is dependent on the track and the tail wind but on average uses an 18 step run up. The stronger the tailwind the further back he steps and the stronger the headwind, the further forward. Understanding the environmental effects of the surroundings of an athlete can be beneficial or detrimental to the results. ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015) Junior athletes should familiarise themselves with an approach step count that allows them to build enough power and momentum to be able to transfer it through the phases.
Timing-
Eissa (2014), conducted a study on horizontal velocity in relation to distance covered in triple jump and the take off phases. The horizontal velocity of the 3 take off phases the hop, skip and jump are between 8.4 – 8.86, 7.58 – 8.22, and 6.46 – 7.34 (m/s), respectively. (Eissa 2014) The study had a focus on the loss of horizontal velocity from when the foot touched the ground, results showed that the loss was between 0.69 – 0.95, 0.38 – 0.52, 0.85 – 1.05 (m/s), respectively.(Eissa 2014) They also measured a take off angle of between 15.02–16.0°, and 9–12.7° (Eissa 2014). The research showed that to minimise the loss of velocity, proper take off technique at each phase should be utilised. The challenge of this for triple jumpers is how to continue to move momentum forward during this repetitive task of landing and taking off (Eissa 2014). Claye talks in reference to this stating that 'slight changes could lead me to foul — even a toenail over the end of the board means the jump isn’t valid.' Hay et al discusses research of the University of Iowa in reference to the horizontal distance and the centre of gravity. The centre of gravity lies in the toe of the touchdown foot in each phase and in the landing mark. Without correct centre of gravity in the touchdown between each phase, the athlete would simply decrease their amount of flight and the lack of horizontal distance made during the phases and in the final jump (Hay & Miller jnr., 2016). Claye supports this stating that 'we constantly practice, if you don’t, one of two things will happen: if you’re lucky, you just won’t jump very far because your centre of mass is in the wrong position. If you’re unlucky, gravity will push you forward and instead of landing on your feet, you’ll fall on your face.' ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015) Junior athletes should approach the timing in the phases of training as the most important as the timing will affect the success of the jump and prevent fouls. Training specifically to improve horizontal velocity and focussing on the centre of gravity in landing will give the junior athlete an advantage in understanding the optimal technique.
Optimal technique in triple jump is reliant on specific timing and the ability to transfer power of motion and momentum. The transfer of momentum occurs through the takeoff foot and transfers into the hop phase takeoff foot, then the skip/step phase takeoff foot then finally the jump phase takeoff foot. Athletes should use the mid part of their foot to complete the take off and continue the power of momentum forward and into the next phase (Hay & Miller jnr., 2016). Repetitive training and the understanding of the positioning of the foot is essential to the optimal technique. Claye explains his own experience; 'Visual cues come in handy, but at the end of the day, muscle memory is king. I’ve done thousands of repetitions.' ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015)
The laws of motion are effective throughout triple jump but especially throughout the flight of the phases. Claye likens this in his explanation to an ice skater that during a turn, opens up to slow dow ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015). In triple jump, the athlete must extend their legs to slow down the rotations and remain in the air as long as possible to prepare for the landing and the next phase. No unnecessary motion is needed or created as it will affect the distance travelled. The movement of the legs and arms throughout the phases is crucial to injury prevention ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015). Specifically speaking of the skip phase, Claye describes the skip phase landing as terribly dangerous as the landing brings with it 15 times his own body weight. While bringing his legs in together then allowing them to explode out towards the landing - again to slow down- Claye also moves his arms backwards during this phase and as the landing approaches, then explosively moves them forward to maximise momentum ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015). 'If your timing and rhythm aren’t on point, it’s going to hurt. Bad. With all that force, landing wrong could blow out your knee or roll your ankle. Or you might fall on your face, which is painful and embarrassing ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015)'.
The angle of the body from the jump phase to the landing phase is also vitally important. When taking off for the jump, both legs extend in front of the body to achieve the closet to a 90 degree angle as momentum and core strength will allow. The arms extend past the legs behind the body. ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015)Landing is difficult to master as gravity pulls you down and first instinct in to use your hands to catch the landing. Instead, the bottom will catch the landing and slide, the jump is measured by the landing point. If hands land behind the bottom, that is where they measure from. Maintaining the closest 90 degree angle is therefore vitally important as it will assist in achieving a further landing.
Junior athletes can approach their training with a biomechanics knowledge that will ultimately help them understand the importance of the fundamental skills they are training in. Claye mentions the importance of training in core strength, bounding, ladder work and track work ("What You Don't Know About: Triple Jump | By Will Claye", 2015).
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